Holidaymaker dies after being rescued from the sea in Costa Adeje
A 70-year-old male holidaymaker died yesterday, Tuesday, 20th January 2026, after being pulled from the water in cardiac arrest at Playa del Duque in Costa Adeje, south Tenerife, according to the Canary Islands Emergency and Security Coordination Centre (CECOES).
The incident occurred at 12:50pm, when 112 received an alert reporting that a swimmer had been brought to shore and was being assisted by beach lifeguards.
Emergency teams were immediately deployed, including SUC medical personnel, as well as a doctor and nurse from the Adeje Health Centre.
On arrival, paramedics continued advanced resuscitation efforts alongside the primary care doctor and nurse, but despite prolonged attempts they were unable to revive the man, and his death was confirmed at the scene.
Local Police officers also assisted the operation, while the National Police took charge of the body until permission was given to remove it from the beach for an autopsy to confirm the cause of death. At this stage his full identity and nationality has not been revealed.
This latest incident comes as drowning remains a major public safety concern in the Canary Islands. The archipelago was one of the few regions in Spain where deaths by drowning exceeded road fatalities in 2025, with 69 people losing their lives in the water compared with 53 in traffic accidents.
According to figures from the Association for the Prevention of Drownings, Canarias, 1500 Km de Costa, drownings have outnumbered road deaths in the islands every year for the past decade.
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